Johnny Gaudreau's mother Jane pens heartfelt note of gratitude to the USHL for The Gaudreau Award

Modified Apr 18, 2025 09:47 GMT

On Thursday, late NHLer Johnny Gaudreau’s mother, Jane Gaudreau, shared a heartfelt message on X to thank the USHL and Commissioner Glenn Hefferan for creating the Gaudreau Award in honor of her sons.

The award was established by the USHL earlier this year in January to honor the legacy of the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. The inaugural recipient of the award was announced on April 12, and Ethan Wyttenbach of the Sioux Falls Stampede was named the honoree.

The award was presented in Sioux Falls this week, where Johnny Gaudreau’s parents, Guy and Jane, joined USHL Commissioner Glenn Hefferan to surprise Wyttenbach with the honor. Jane shared special moments from their trip on X and wrote:

“A special thank you to Glenn Hefferan and the @USHL for establishing the award to honor John & Matty Gaudreau. Guy and I were incredibly honored to be invited to Sioux Falls to surprise Ethan Wyttenbach and let him know he was the winner of the Gaudreau Award.”

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Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew died in a tragic road accident last year in late August. The brothers were cycling near Salem County the evening before their sister Katie’s wedding when an allegedly drunk driver hit them with his truck. Since then, the hockey community has come together to pay special tributes to the memory of the beloved hockey stars.

Johnny Gaudreau’s mother thanked the Omaha Lancers for special tribute

Earlier this month, the Omaha Lancers held a special ceremony on April 5 to honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. Before their game against the Dubuque Fighting Saints, the Gaudreau family was invited to take part in the ceremonial puck drop. There was also an 11-second moment of silence for Matthew, who wore jersey No. 11 while playing for the team.

Jane Gaudreau later shared photos from the special event and thanked the Lancers.

“On behalf of the Gaudreau family, we want to thank the Omaha Lancers organization, the players, and the coaches for the beautiful tribute for Matty and John last weekend. Your love and support made the night incredibly special for us,” Jane wrote.

She also expressed her gratitude to Matthew’s billet parents, Deb and Colin Andersen, for the support they gave her son during his time in Omaha.

“I know Matty and John were looking down, smiling, and feeling all the love we felt. Please continue to keep our family in your thoughts as we move forward, honoring the legacy of John and Matty,” she concluded.

Matthew Gaudreau played for the Omaha Lancers from 2011 to 2013. He made over 100 appearances for the side during his time there.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the industry. Having an educational background in Media Studies, she strives to present information in a clear and unbiased manner, so that all perspectives are considered and represented fairly.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

She is a self-taught musician, loves silversmithing and can be found at her workbench if she’s not watching or writing about sports.

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